Product Details

• Actors: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills
• Directors: John Waters
• Writers: John Waters
• Producers: John Waters
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NC-17
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Saliva Films
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1997
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304484054
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,244 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

This is the movie that made John Waters famous, and quite possibly the film that made bad taste cool. Yes, Virginia, a large transvestite actually eats dog feces as a kind of dizzying denouement to this frequently illogical and intentionally disgusting movie, but by the time that happens, you're already numb ... and you've possibly laughed to the point of losing bladder control.

The plot revolves around two vile families laying claim to the title "The Filthiest People Alive." You've got pregnant women in pits, you've got grown men getting sexual satisfaction from chickens, you've got people licking furniture to perform trailer-park voodoo, and you've got classic lines like: "Oh my God! The couch ... it ... it rejected you!"

Waters, who went on to direct genuine pop-culture classics such as Hairspray and Serial Mom, made this celluloid sideshow with one aim--to make a name for himself. It worked. He does have a genuine eye for filmmaking (when the trailer burns down, you feel the white heat of Divine's pain and anger). On the other hand, you won't notice any disclaimers about stunt doubles and animals not being mistreated. There weren't, and they were. Welcome to the filthiest film in the world. --Grant Balfour

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Which came first - the chicken or the Egg Man?, January 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pink Flamingos (25th Anniversary Edition) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you can sit thru some of the most disturbing scenes ever filmed, you will be rewarded by some of the funniest. A must-see for John Waters fans, although after seeing this movie umpteen times, I still fast-forward past the chicken sex scene and the mom-fellates-son scene - they are still too horrible for me to watch! The highlights include Edith Massey, who spends the entire movie in a playpen wearing dirty underwear and obsessing about eggs; Divine's unique way of keeping her dinner steak warm; and the pepperoni-enhanced flasher. If you're the easily-offended type, don't ever watch it. If you like sick humor and are a Waters fan, you must have this in your collection.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Please Remove Yourself From My Office!", October 14, 2005

By 

B. Heeley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pink Flamingos (DVD)

This film is hilarious! It's so good! Judging by some of the low reviews this movie has received, it's pretty clear that these people have no sense of humour and probably grew up in the Bible Belt of America living under rocks with no clue of anything involving creativity.

People, this movie is SUPPOSED TO BE GROSS, IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE DISGUSTING, IT DELIBERATELY HAS BAD ACTING...all these things make this movie so appealing. The main character is a transvestite, her son has a chicken sex fetish, the mother is obsessed with eating eggs and lives in a play pen, the villains have red and blue hair and keep girls impregnated by their chauffeur locked in the basement...how could it get any better??

I laugh harder everytime I see this movie and I'm sure anyone with a sense of humour will strongly agree and find it equally as amusing!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My first wanted poster and I look just awful !!!, October 23, 2007

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pink Flamingos (DVD)

Pink Flamingos really was the film John Waters made to make him famous--and it worked, although he didn't truly enter mainstream cinema for some years to come. The plot moves along rather well--better than I expected; and the acting is great. The scenes and plot are so silly that I found it entertaining although I wouldn't give it quite the full five stars.

The action begins when Connie and Raymond Marble (Mink Stole and David Lochary, respectively) become involved in a huge fight with Babs Johnson, a.k.a. Divine (Divine) over who is the filthiest person alive. The Marbles even hire a spy, Cookie (Cookie Mueller) to get them the dirt (no pun intended) on Divine and her family. Divine lives in a broken down trailer home in the woods. Divine's crazy son Crackers (Danny Mills), her mentally challenged, egg loving mother Edie (Edith Massey) and her good friend Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce) live with her.

The Marbles start to torture Divine and her family not just with a spy but also with the lovely (ahem) package they send to Divine--a piece of "number two." Of course it's only a matter of time before Divine and her family attack the Marble's home; and The Marbles attack Divine's home.

Be prepared--this is no movie for the squeamish. There are scenes of (ahem) rather unusual modes of love making, human mutilation, and there's the infamous scene at the end in which Divine eats a dog's you-know-what. Actually, the last scene is so talked about it came off as slightly less (well, very slightly less) repugnant than I thought it would be.

The movie was made on a very, very low budget, so if you want great cinematography and choreography, look elsewhere. I would suppose, however, that the choreography works well in crowd scenes including the scene in which everybody at Divine's birthday party attacks the police.

The DVD comes with a 12 minute 25th anniversary extra that gives us deleted scenes from the movie; and we get the original theatrical trailer as well.

Overall, Pink Flamingos may not be as bad as they say it is--I rather liked it. Sure, it's a tad gross at times; but it's all in good fun. This movie should appeal to adults who can handle creative movies that are clearly out of the mainstream.

Thank you, John Waters!